summa

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

n. A comprehensive treatise, especially in philosophy or theology.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

n. A comprehensive summary of, or treatise on a subject, especially theology or philosophy.

Etymologies

Medieval Latin, from Latin, the whole; see sum1.

(American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

From Latin summa. (Wiktionary)

Examples

And though it is unclear whether the title summa is original (Jordan, 1986, 182-3), the work fits the summa form in its systematic arrangement of topics and its attempt to include all possible arguments for a given position and against its contrary.

A Cleveland native, Eisenmann holds a bachelor of arts in English, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Connecticut College in New London, Conn.; a master's degree in American literature from Georgetown University; and a second master's degree and a doctorate in the history of education from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.

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Comments

"'Immoderate' or 'lascivious' dancing was again listed as a confessable sin in an important summa, or directory of sins, promulgated in 1317."—Barbara Ehrenreich, Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy (New York: Metropolitan Books, 2006), 81